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University of Cincinnati, family of Sam DuBose reach settlement

Deal gives family of DuBose $4.85 million, promises free tuition for his 13 children

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Updated: 7:02 PM EST Jan 18, 2016

University of Cincinnati, family of Sam DuBose reach settlement

Deal gives family of DuBose $4.85 million, promises free tuition for his 13 children

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Updated: 7:02 PM EST Jan 18, 2016

CINCINNATI (AP & WLWT) —

The family of a man shot and killed by a University of Cincinnati police officer who pulled him over for not having a front license plate has reached a $5.3 million settlement with the school, the family and university announced Monday.

The deal gives the family of Samuel DuBose $4.85 million and promises free undergraduate tuition for his 13 children who range in age from 4 to 23.

The educational component of the settlement is valued at approximately $500,000.

Additionally, UC will erect a memorial to DuBose on campus and UC President Santa Ono will also issue an apology to the family for the loss of DuBose.

"This did not need to happen, and we need to make sure this doesn’t happen to another family," said Terina Allen, DuBose’s sister. "And if we have that memorial, maybe that makes people stop and say ’Wow.’ And maybe it won’t happen again."

Brooks is the administrator of her late father’s estate meaning she will ultimately decide how the settlement money is doled out.

"We got some positives from it, but my dad won’t be here," Brooks said. "So it’s still a bittersweet moment."

Al Gerhardstein, a civil rights attorney who helped the DuBose family during settlement talks, said, "It is Martin Luther King Day. And he encouraged us to resolve our disputes peacefully. The family heard that. They had the most violent thing happen to Sam DuBose that can happen from a law enforcement officer. They lost their dad, their brother, their son and yet they responded peacefully and have worked for months with UC to try and both honor his legacy and promote reforms that will change things for the future and make this less likely to happen."

The fact the settlement was announced on MLK Day is not lost on DuBose’s fiancee, Da’Shonda Reid.

"We’re still looking for dreams," Reid said. "We’re still marching. We’re still singing. We’re still praying. What has changed? We’re still losing lives out here."

Reid added, "The money won’t bring Sam back to us, and we definitely don’t have a sense of closure right now because of this settlement. And the next step we’re looking forward to is the criminal proceeding."

DuBose, 43, was shot and killed behind the wheel of his car on July 19 after Officer Ray Tensing stopped him near campus for missing a front license plate which is required by Ohio law.

Tensing said after he stopped the car DuBose refused to provide a driver’s license and get out.

A struggle ensued as DuBose tried to drive away.

Tensing’s attorney, Stew Mathews, says his client fired a shot because he feared he was about to be dragged under DuBose’s car.

The incident was captured by Tensing’s body camera.

Tensing is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty.

Matthews said a hearing to set a trial date has been scheduled for Feb. 11.

As for the settlement, Mathews said he does not believe it "will have any direct impact on the criminal case."

But it’s clear Mathews thinks the agreement could make it hard to seat an impartial jury.

"Their knowledge of the settlement is one aspect that could affect their ability to be fair and impartial, and you try to find that out," Mathews told the Associated Press.

DuBose’s shooting death occurred during heightened scrutiny across the United States of police treatment of blacks, after a string of police-inflicted deaths from Ferguson, Missouri, to Chicago sparked sometimes-violent protests over the past year and a half.

DuBose, who was unarmed, was black, and Tensing is white.

When asked what he would say if anyone criticized the size of the settlement, Gerhardstein said, "Sam DuBose was missing a front license plate, and he offered that plate to Ray Tensing. He got shot for that. There’s absolutely no basis to criticize this settlement as somehow unworthy when a man was executed for not having a front license plate. And the community needs to understand that it’s only by rising above those types of criticisms that the family was able to work with UC and come to a much more constructive solution than to start putting dollars on those types of moral judgments. And we got past that in the negotiations, and I hope the community can appreciate just how far this family and UC have come."

"I want to again express on behalf of the University of Cincinnati community our deepest sadness and regrets at the heartbreaking loss of the life of Samuel DuBose," school President Santa Ono said in a statement. "This agreement is also part of the healing process not only for the family but also for our university and Cincinnati communities."

The settlement also means the DuBose family will have an opportunity to participate in Community Advisory Committee meetings.

UC says the CAC is soliciting community input on police reforms and will review the results of an external audit of the university’s police force.

Mark O’Mara, a civil rights attorney representing DuBose’s family, said the family hopes the tragedy can be a springboard to improving relations between police and the community so it doesn’t happen again.

"We have to have a discourse on how do we make our cops better cops," O’Mara said. "And the flipside to that coin is, we have to figure out how to better interact with cops."

Terina Allen said the family is glad the university "acknowledged responsibility that they know they did something wrong. We’re focused now more on the criminal trial, and we’re really hoping Tensing is convicted."

Stew Mathews has asked that the trial be moved to another county.

A ruling has not been made on that motion. It’s likely to be granted only if attorneys are unable to seat an impartial jury.

Editor’s note: Court documents initially reported that Dubose had 12 children. The number was amended to 13 in court documents filed in May 2016.